TORO Y MOI, UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA, BASS DRUM OF DEATH

(Branx, 320 SE 2nd) Chaz Bundick is a puppetmaster of a huge range of dancing, bouncing sounds. You know him better as Toro y Moi, your one-stop shop for future jamz and retro '80s synths, all squelching along for a funky, freaky dance party. Don't miss Unknown Mortal Orchestra, with tightly coiled funk-psych and a flamboyant live show (guitar heroics! Capes, sometimes!) that you don't want to miss. NED LANNAMANN

LOVERS, THE SHONDES, FORSORCERERS

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) This paper has done a poor job of cloaking our collective Lovers fandom—okay, fine, it's a creepy obsession, you happy now? Last year the trio delivered Dark Light, a remarkable album that seems to improve with each passing listen and has the distinction of not even being their best work to date—that honor goes to its sunnier predecessor I Am the West. Joining them are the ladies (and the one dude) of the Shondes, a dynamic quartet unafraid to add some jarring violin notes to their uptempo punk sound. The Brooklyn band is making the rounds in support of Searchlights, which is a more fleshed-out effort than their intensely personal 2010 release, My Dear One. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

BOATS, BLOODTYPES, COMPANY, MORMON TRANNYS, DESTROY NATE ALLEN

(Plan B, 1305 SE 8th) Don't confuse Sacramento's Boats with the band from Winnipeg of the same name (who were signed to Kill Rock Stars recently). And don't confuse them with Seattle's charming BOAT, either. No, this Boats is a snotty punk band with songs that crash and jump and are all over in less than a minute and a half. Actually, their nosebleed songs are so goofy and full of giddy excitement that they'll give Seattle's BOAT a run for their money in the lovability sweepstakes. Boats' songs thump like the fast-wagging tail of a particularly excitable dog, knocking everything—oh no, not the bong!—off the coffee table and onto the floor. With new guitarist Charles Albright and drummer Patrick Shelley in tow, they'll blast through town, leaving behind a stinky puddle that no carpet cleaner can erase. NL

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I'm just gonna be honest here: I have no idea what tragedy has befallen the folks at Yahmill House so I'm just going to assume it's something worthy (not like, say, a fundraiser for fake tits or some godawful No New Taxes pledge). If you know, share in the comments below.

But regardless of whether or not it's for a good cause, this show is bound to be a goddamn pizza party good time. There's little more I can say about these bands you don't already know. The Mean Jeans are Portland's Best Party Band. White Fang's shreds with a smile and Guantanamo Baywatch shoves surf twang in front of the funhouse mirror. It's simple: you know 'em, you love 'em, so what the fuck are you waiting for?

Go to this show. Bring money. Make a donation at the door. Dance around. Buy some raffle tickets. Spray beer in the air. Win records and pizza. Sing a long with the Jeans. Really, you can't go wrong here.

TONIGHT: Benefit for the Ladies and Gentlemen of Yamhill House w/ Mean Jeans, White Fang, Guantanamo Baywatch @ East End - 9PM - Donation

Raffle Prizes have been donated by Hammy's Pizza, Virginia Cafe, East End, Slappy Cakes, Exiled Records, art by Vo Minh and more. Fucking awesome.

BOO FROG, CRIMSON DYNAMITE, SLUTTY HEARTS
(Plan B, 1305 SE 8th) Boo Frog's lyrical garage oblivion is stamped with just a kiss of the hoodoo, enough to spellbind even the most skeptical of our city's storied punk scene. Not that Chris Newman needs to employ folk magic to impress. The legacy of his former band, Napalm Beach, is one whose influence will not soon fade away. Along with Dead Moon's Fred Cole and the Wipers' Greg Sage, Newman helped create the Portland punk offshoot that prefaced the '90s movement we all know as "grunge." But those days were long ago, and since then Newman's been through the mill, even spending a few years in Tarp Town, San Francisco. Meanwhile, his music has only gotten better. It's evolved into a distinctly swampy version of itself, as though it's been dredged through the pits and rescued at just the last moment: nearly fossilized and slowly dripping. CHRIS CANTINO

POOR CLAUDIA BENEFIT: NEAL MORGAN, ALEXIS GIDEON, PIGEONS, BOYS ON THE SIDE, NEW DADZ DJS, DJ MIKE M,
DJ SNAKKS
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Despite its sad-sack name, literary magazine Poor Claudia is one of the city's most thoughtful, carefully curated literary journals—and tonight, they've rallied a crew of musicians, artists, and writers (including poet Zachary Schomburg and members of White Hinterland) to help raise funds to keep all that careful thoughtfulness afloat. ALISON HALLETT

VETIVER, QUIET LIFE, GREAT WILDERNESS
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Years back, as a fresh-faced man in my 20s, I loathed Vetiver. It was unfair and reactionary, but after witnessing the band play onstage I grew restless and that boredom manifested itself in a slow simmering (and misplaced) hatred. They were guilty of associating with Devendra Banhart, leaning too heavily on American Beauty-era Dead, and just being the wrong band at the absolute wrong time. But I've aged, as has Vetiver, and now my hunger for new music from Andy Cabic & Co. has reached an insatiable level. This year's The Errant Charm is subtle yet expansive, an album loaded with deep emotionalism yet simple in structure and pleasant on the ears. I take little pride in arriving at Vetiver fandom so late, but now that I'm here and listening to The Errant Charm once again, there isn't anywhere I'd rather be. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

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